Eternity
by Song of the Lark
Summary: Life for Chihiro could not get any worse. Her town thinks she's an idiot, a bully, and a looney, and it's all because of that...that thing that apparently only she can see. Now if she could only figure out how to get it to leave her alone... Title subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, since I think I've been confusing people, I've decided to clarify a few things (thank you, Bloophearts for pointing that out!).**

 **1) Chihiro has no memories of the Spirit World, 2) Chihiro figured out all the incidents were connected to reflective surfaces (water, windows, mirrors, etc.) so that's why she put the mirror in front of her bed** **– to confront the source of her problems rather than avoid them like she had before.**

 **Sorry for confusing everyone!**

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The first time it happened, Chihiro had fallen out of her seat in class. Wide eyed and shivering profusely, she was having a hard time forming words since her tongue was stumbling all over itself, so she settled for pointing a shaky finger at the window instead. When a dozen pairs of eyes turned to look though, all they saw was foliage. She avoided looking out the window after that.

The second time it happened, Chihiro almost dropped a cup. Though she managed to catch it in time, the jostling had caused most of her iced water to pour out all over her pants. She'd left the restaurant with a misleading water stain on her pants and her mother's atrocious hot pink sweater wrapped around her waist. She stopped looking into her cups after that.

The third time it happened, Chihiro was just about ready to tear her hair out. "What are you?!" she screamed at the water as she scrambled out of the pool. Unfortunately, a little five-year-old boy who was wading in the waters directly in front of her thought she was yelling at him and promptly burst into tears. That week, she'd gotten a lot of weird looks and even more glares every time she left the house. She resolved never to go swimming after that.

The thirty second time it happened (or maybe it was thirty first? Chihiro wasn't sure. She stopped counting some time after twenty.), Chihiro finally relented and placed a full length mirror, which she'd thrown a sheet over after the seventh (eighth?) time it happened, in front of her bed.

She'd bought the mirror from a withering old lady a few years back. The woman claimed that the mirror was a portal to another world, that the jewels in the rings she sold were solidified dragon's blood, and that the toothed necklaces were _not_ made from shark teeth but from a snake spirit's fangs. Chihiro hadn't believed a word she said, but she needed a mirror and the lady was selling it cheap, so she bought it. Now though, she was kind of regretting her purchase.

For a moment, Chihiro stared at the mirror, contemplating if confronting her problem was the best course of action, and decided that yes, yes it was. So, without further ado, she ripped the sheet off with a sharp tug and took a deep breath.

She was going to go about this like a calm, rational human being.

"What are you?!"

So much for calm and rational.

The figure in the mirror which stared back at her was not her own. It was a teenage boy a few years older than her with shoulder length green hair and eyes that seemed to hold unspeakable sadness.

He looked...familiar.

Chihiro racked her brain for knowledge as to who he was but she couldn't remember for the life of her who the boy was. That didn't stop her from ranting at him though because potential acquaintance or not, he was practically ruining her life what with him popping up all over the place.

"I've been seeing you everywhere I go, and people are starting to think I'm insane!" She'd started pacing back and forth with her hands flying all over the place, gesturing wildly to convey her anger and irritation.

When the figure still said nothing, she whirled on the boy and tried directing all of her anger on the single spot between his eyes, hoping she'd suddenly gained the powers to spontaneously combust someone with her glare. " _Well?_ " she said, her voice frosty. " _What do you have to say for yourself?_ "

Silence.

Chihiro let out a frustrated growl and flopped face down onto her bed. The inside of her mind was like a tornado whirling with thoughts and possibilities as to what this boy was. He wasn't human, or at least, she didn't think so. She lifted her head off the sheets enough to glance at him from the corner of her eye.

He was still there.

Chihiro rolled around so her back was to the boy and continued to think. Eventually, after minutes of contemplating, her mind supplied her with the most logical answer it could think of as to what the boy was: a ghost.

She, Chihiro Ogino, was being haunted by a ghost.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing, following, and favoriting this story! I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see people paying attention to my writing. I hope I don't disappoint with this chapter!**

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Chihiro sighed and shot her mirror a resentful look. Over the course of an hour, she'd moved from her bed to her desk and back. Now, she was sitting at her desk with her fingers drumming against the wood of her work space and her feet kicking up and down furiously.

Why wouldn't he just leave her alone?

The boy was still living in her mirror, staring at her with that sad look in his eyes. He never moved from his spot, just watched her from where he stood.

She thought that if she communicated with him, she'd be able to get him to stop pestering her. But no matter what Chihiro did, the ghost just didn't understand. She'd tried everything she could think of.

She tried to talk to him. He said nothing. She wrote a letter. He still said nothing. She made hand gestures. Nothing.

And the silence was suffocating.

Maybe she really was going crazy...? Chihiro closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, her fingers pressing soothing circles into her skin. She could feel a _migraine_ coming on. Wasn't seeing things other people couldn't a sign of schizophrenia or something?

Chihiro sighed. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. When it seemed like her headache had abated, Chihiro hesitantly opened her eyes and willed for the ghost-thing to be gone.

He was still there.

Disappointment washed through her and she could only stare back at him in silence. But after a moment of staring into the mirror which no longer reflected her own image, Chihiro got up from her seat and walked over to the boy.

She pressed her forehead against the glass and let out a sigh, her breath clouding a small area of the ghost's chest. Ghost, illusion, she didn't care any more. She just wanted him gone.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Her voice was tired with a tinge of misery mixed in. It was like she'd just aged a decade; her whole being was exhausted from putting up with these...these _delusions_. She looked the boy dead in the eyes and pressed a hand against the mirror. "Did I do something to you in a past life? Is that why you're haunting me?!"

Chihiro sucked in a breath suddenly – but not because she wanted to rant at the ghost-boy some more. No, something was wrong.

Slowly, her eyes dropped from his sparkling emerald green eyes (was that joy she saw...?) and took in the sight of her hand – no, her _lack_ of a hand – pressed against the mirror. Her brain struggled to comprehend what she was seeing – her hand had somehow passed through the mirror. This was impossible! But she could see and feel his cold hand entwining with her warm one.

Chihiro gasped. Could delusions be so _real_?

She tried to jerk her hand back but the boy's grip was like stone. He was unmovable. Then, the hand that held hers started to pull her in.

Chihiro eyes widened in horror and she let out a loud cry when it wasn't just her hand trapped in the mirror any more. No, her wrist had been pulled in, and now the rest of her arm was being sucked into this death trap!

She frantically tried to get away, but his hands kept dragging her closer and closer into the already too close mirror. Chihiro dug her heels into the wooden floor and twisted her body away, trying to get him to lose his grip, but nothing slowed his movements.

"Let _go_ of me!"

She wasn't sure, but out of the corner of her eyes, she thought she saw a small smile playing on his lips. Then, his hand tightened even more around hers and he jerked their entwined hands to his body, bringing her crashing forward.

"No–!"

Chihiro instinctively closed her eyes, expecting to slam into glass, but when no such impact came, she slowly, hesitantly opened her eyes.

An expanse of darkness was what greeted her.

There was absolutely nothing – wait...

Chihiro squinted into the distance. It was faint, but she could see light trickling through the darkness...something like...an exit?

She sat back on her haunches. Well, it didn't matter to her. She was just trying to get back...

Like a switch had been flipped, Chihiro remembered the ghost-boy who'd brought her here and furiously looked around, her eyes darting about quickly in search of that frightening boy.

He was nowhere in sight, but...

That _ghost_.

Chihiro shivered and rubbed her hands against her forearms. Though the hand that caught her was gone, she could still feel the chill of that icy hand around her.

She shook her head, trying to erase the fear from her mind, and looked behind her, wanting to go back home, but only found emptiness stretching forth for miles. Her heart sunk in her chest.

Her bedroom was gone, and with it, her ticket back home.

What was she going to _do_? She couldn't go back now!

Suddenly, Chihiro remembered the twinkling of light in the distance. Her head snapped to that direction and she eyed the exit cautiously, then looked away and considered her options. She could wait here in the darkness for that ghost-boy to return and show her the way back (Chihiro snorted. Like _that_ was gonna happen.) or...

She pursed her lips and eyed her possible salvation. It wasn't like she _really_ had a choice.

Without another thought, Chihiro scrambled to her feet and shot forth to the exit.


	3. Chapter 3

Chihiro burst through the exit with all the vigor of a rampaging bull, only skidding to a halt when the nothingness had changed into...well, darkness. The sun was setting in the distance, and the light blue sky gave way to the ruddy reds and dark purples.

She blinked in surprise and gave her surroundings a cursory look. Chihiro didn't know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this! On her right was a field of grass stretching as far as the eye could see. She couldn't spot any buildings or man-made objects. On her left was a huge grassy hill and...

Chihiro squinted.

...a building? From what she could see, it was large, red, and looked like something out of a historical Japanese movie. And buildings meant people and people meant help!

Chihiro scrambled up the hill but suddenly stopped halfway up. Was she _really_ going up there when she had no clue what was waiting for her? As far as she knew, that ghost-boy who'd practically dragged her who-knows-where could be waiting with "friends" or something. Did she really want to chance it?

But...staying here was just as bad. She would never go home if she stayed rooted in place.

Steeling her nerves, Chihiro continued to ascend the hill. Once up, she sucked in a breath and looked around in surprise. There were so many stalls! And strangely enough, there wasn't a person in sight.

"Hello?" Chihiro cupped a hand to her mouth and called out again. "Hellooo? Is anyone out here?"

No response.

Chihiro sighed. _Maybe they're all in that building over there?_ With this thought in mind, she strode quickly past the empty stalls that showed off delicacy after delicacy, enticing her with their mouth-watering scents, beckoning her with their smoky tendrils to _come over here, Chihiro! Come eat! We're delicious!_

Chihiro's stomach growled and she looked at the food longingly. No, no, she needed to get help. Chihiro sped up, practically running to the building now as if running would allow her to escape the hunger pains.

Eventually, her feet brought her to a long bridge that led to the entrance of the building. Upon closer inspection, Chihiro noticed it was a bathhouse. She ran her hand along the railing as she walked, and, struck by a sense of nostalgia, she climbed onto the wooden railing and leaned over it. Train tracks covered the ground below, disappearing into a tunnel just underneath her.

"What the–? A _human_?"

Chihiro tore her eyes away from the train tracks and looked behind her. A man with white hair that gleamed gold in the dying light stared back at her, horror in his eyes. For reasons unknown to her, the man's face overlapped with another image of a boy years younger.

"You shouldn't have come here."

 _You shouldn't be here._

"Get out before the sun sets!"

 _Leave before it gets dark!_

Chihiro jumped off the railing and her feet made a move to run away, but she stubbornly set her chin and stood her ground. "No, not until I figure out what's going on."

The man growled, practically spitting in frustration. "There's no time!" He whipped around and stared at the door of the bathhouse. The lights around them flared to life.

His eyes widened, and when he next looked at Chihiro, she felt a surge of alarm race down her spine.

"Why are you still – Oh, forget it! You're coming with me!" His hand shot out and grabbed her forearm. Then, he dragged her across the bridge and turned a sharp left, away from the doors, and pulled her behind the building.

Chihiro stumbled all over her feet, partly trying to rip her arm away from the insistent tugs and partly trying to stop herself from falling flat on her face. "Hey! You can't just kidnap me like this! Who do you think you –"

"Shut up!" he hissed. The man spun around, and Chihiro almost slammed into his chest at the sudden movement.

She glared at him, her mouth opening to throw out insults, but she faltered when his lip curled back, revealing a set of gleaming fangs.

Chihiro's heart nearly stopped. "Wha–?"

" _Be. Quiet. Do you want to get torn to pieces, human?_ "

Chihiro gaped at the man as he continued pulling her God-knows-where, and something in her mind just clicked. White hair, fangs, and the way he said "human"...

 _Just what have I gotten myself into?_


End file.
